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Queer on Campus: A Resource Guide

Being queer in college can be a totally different experience than being queer in high school. Young LGBTQ people face considerable risks compared to their heterosexual, cisgender peers. In general, high schoolers who identify as LGB are nearly five times as likely to attempt suicide as straight students, reports the National Alliance on Mental Illness. And while LGBT people are more likely to complete high school and some college than those who are not LGBT, queer folks are less likely to earn a bachelor's degree or obtain a post-graduate degree, according to a Gallup Daily Tracking survey.

Luckily, resources are available to people of all ages, on college campuses and in surrounding communities. Allow this list to be a starting point for you; it isn't comprehensive.

College Resources

Maybe you came from a high school that didn't offer many resources. Maybe you waited until college to come out. Maybe you are facing conflicts with family, or maybe you just need some extra support during college. Regardless, your school can often help you. Many Ohio colleges ranked high on the Campus Pride Index last year, which is determined based on factors such as policy, academics, housing, safety, health, recruitment, retention and more.

The LGBT Center provides personalized, gender inclusive housing options by reviewing each request and going through a "hands-on" process to match students with a roommate based not on gender, but on who they'd be comfortable living with, Elisabeth Roccoforte, the director of the LGBT Center told Scene.

The Student Information System has a pronoun option that will transfer to every course roster.

Theta Pi Sigma is an LGBTQ-focused, gender inclusive Greek organization that is working with other fraternities and sororities to help "make sure Greek life on campus is really integrated with the LGBT community," Emma McCann, the president of Theta Pi Sigma, told Scene.

The LGBTQ+ Center has a brochure of resources tailored to non-students, as 664 community members visited the center during the last academic year, according to the center's annual report. There are resources listed both on- and off-campus, in case folks can't make it out to the Akron or Cleveland areas, said Ken Ditlevson, the director of the LGBTQ+ Center.